Ph.D. Media Studies, University of Texas at Austin (Expected June 2025)

Tentative Dissertation Title: “Speculative Management Cultures & the Development of Deficit Financing in U.S. Television.”

Committee: Alisa Perren (Chair), Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, Shanti Kumar, Thomas Schatz, and Jennifer Holt.

M.F.A. Film & Television Studies, Boston University (May 2021)

Thesis: “ABC & Wall Street: The Financialization of the Television Audience, from Broadcast to Streaming.”

Committee: Deborah L. Jaramillo (Advisor) and Charlotte Howell

B.S. Film & Television, Boston University (May 2015)

B.S. Business Administration, Boston University (May 2015)

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Johnson, Peter Arne. 2023. “Selling to Wall Street: Theorizing the Financial Commodity Audience in Network Era Television.” Media Industries Journal 10 (1). https://doi.org/10.3998/mij.3149.

Johnson, Peter Arne. 2021. “Demystifying Hammer: The Influence of Transnational Hollywood Financing.” MONSTRUM 4 (October): 6–22. https://www.monstrum-society.ca/monstrum-v4-2021.html.

Johnson, Peter Arne. 2021. “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Spatial and Industrial Logics of Home Fitness Technologies.” New Review of Film and Television Studies 19 (4): 485–509. https://doi.org/10.1080/17400309.2021.1960099.

Johnson, Peter Arne. 2020. “Investigating a Neoliberal Approach to Management & Digital Television Distribution: A Political Economy of the CrossFit Games.” Democratic Communiqué 29, no. 2 (Fall): Article 3. https://doi.org/10.7275/2zc6-fa86.

Book Chapters

Johnson, Peter Arne, and Kathryn G. Hartzell. Forthcoming. “CrossFit Games and the Sport-Media Complex.” In CrossFit: Commodity, Community, Contested Terrain, edited by Marcelle C. Dawson and Steven J. Jackson. Berlin, Germany: Springer Nature.

Johnson, Peter Arne. 2021. “Ambivalence & Contradiction in Digital Distribution: Branding and Marketing the Lived Religion in Ramy.” In Immigrant Generations, Media Representations, and Audiences, edited by Omotayo Banjo, 137–154. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

Book Review

Johnson, Peter Arne. 2023. “Twenty-First-Century Hollywood: Rebooting the System by Neil Archer (Review).” Velvet Light Trap: A Critical Journal of Film and Television 91 (Spring): 78–80.

Encyclopedia Entry

Johnson, Peter Arne. Forthcoming. “Political Economy.” In Industry Studies: Film & Cinema, edited by Kate Fortmueller. Routledge Resources Online: Screen Studies Series. Routledge.

Online Publications

Johnson, Peter Arne. 2022. “Speculative Affect: Streaming Television’s Solution to Late-Stage Capitalism.” Flow Journal, August 3, 2022. www.flowjournal.org/2022/08/speculative-affect-streaming/.

Johnson, Peter Arne. 2021. “The Sun is Shining on AMC: Meme Stocks & (Temporary?) Media Industry Reorganization.” Over*Flow, March 4, 2021. www.flowjournal.org/2021/03/meme-stocks-media-industry-reorganization/.

Johnson, Peter Arne, and Kristina Brüning. “A Multi-level Analysis of Aspirational Labor: Working Actors’ Promotional Practices and Speculative Management Cultures in the U.S. Television Industry.” Media Industries Conference, London, GB, April 16, 2024.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “The Meeting of Californian Ideologies at Private Equity-Backed ‘Indie TV Studios.’” Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Boston, MA, March 14, 2024.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “Financial Discourses & the Hollywood Trade Press: A Computational Analysis, 2015–2021.” International Communication Association, May 28, 2023.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “Burning the Bridge or Bridging the Gap: Approaching Management Scholarship as a Critical Media Industry Scholar.” Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Denver, CO, April 14, 2023.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “The “White Knights” of Showbiz: Junk Bonds & Leveraged Buyouts in 1980s Television.” Business History Conference, Detroit, MI, March 18, 2023.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “Streaming Platform Funding Models in Financialized Capitalism.” Global Perspectives on Platforms and Cultural Production Conference, June 1, 2022.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “Financialized Discourses, Dispositions, and Tactics: Understanding Equity Analysts as Media Industry Stakeholders.” Society for Cinema and Media Studies, April 2, 2022.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “A Post-Conglomerate Era? Considering Activist Investors in Financialized Hollywood.” First Forum Graduate Student Conference, University of Southern California, October 21, 2021.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “The Financialization of ABC: Wall Street Legitimation & the Financialized Commodity Audience, 1943–1970.” Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 4, 2021.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “A Microeconomic Approach to Media Ownership: How Private Ownership Can Limit Access & Choice in Digital Broadcasting.” Society for Cinema and Media Studies, March 19, 2021.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “Both 'Here' and 'There': Examining Our Digital Reflection in Home Fitness Technologies.” Northeast Modern Language Association, March 12, 2021.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “FX on Hulu: Wall Street & the Quality Commodity Audience.” Northeast Popular Culture Association, October 22, 2020.

Johnson, Peter Arne. “Revisiting the Culture Industry: How Media Industries Construct Selfhood in the Neoliberal Information Age.” Designing the Self Graduate Student Conference, York University, July 30, 2020.

Dr. Jennifer Holt, University of California, Santa Barbara (Summer 2023)

Revised in-text and footnote citations and updated manuscript formatting to adhere to publisher guidelines for the book project Cloud Policy: A History of Regulating Pipelines, Platforms, and Data (MIT Press).

Assisted with image permission process by identifying permission status of manuscript images, locating contact information for each owner, reaching out to rights holders, and organizing rights information for the publisher.

Center for Entertainment & Media Industries, UT Austin (Fall 2021, Spring 2022)

Supported Dr. Wenhong Chen and Dr. Lesley Willard in the early stages of a large-scale, multi-method research project titled “Bridging the Internship Gap” by preparing and submitting IRB documents, developing interview and survey tools, interviewing subjects and revising surveys, writing and editing grant proposals, and tracking industry news and media stakeholders.

Facilitated the Media Industry Conversations series, run by Dr. Alisa Perren, and the Global Media Industry Speaker Series, run by Dr. Wenhong Chen.

Provided other ancillary administrative support to the Center.

Dr. Deborah Jaramillo, Boston University (Spring 2020–Fall 2020)

Provided administrative support to Dr. Deborah Jaramillo and Dr. Jennifer Porst for their book chapter “Writing the Airwaves: Recent Trends in Histories of US Broadcasting” (In Routledge Companion to Media Industries, edited by Paul McDonald).

Read broadcast trade publications to identify and code references to television schedule.

Assistant Instructor, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film, RTF 308 The Development of Film & Media (Fall 2023, Spring 2024)

Develop course syllabus and content, including weekly topics, lecture slides, in-class activities, screenings, readings, historical research assignments, and exams.

Design and present original course lectures to undergraduate a class of approximately 65 students and facilitate active in-class learning activities.

With teaching assistant, grade and provide feedback on student exams and assignments related to semester-long research projects.

Teaching Assistant, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film, RTF 308 The Development of Film & Media (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)

Facilitated weekly discussions for two class sections consisting of approximately 25 undergraduate students and assisted the instructor of record with weekly lectures and screenings.

Graded and provided feedback on research proposal projects and written exams.

Worked with students during office hours and one-on-one appointments.

Teaching Assistant, Boston University, Department of Film and Television, COM FT 250 Understanding Film (5 Semesters: Fall 2019–Spring 2021)

Self-generated weekly section mini-lectures and facilitated weekly discussion sections that consisted of 20 undergraduate students.

Graded and provided feedback on written assignments and exams.

Worked with students during office hours and one-on-one appointments.

Provided administrative support to the instructor of record.

Karmiole Endowed Research Fellowship, UC Santa Barbara Library Special Collections 2024

Radio-Television-Film Outstanding Assistant Instructor Award 2024

Graduate School Professional Development Award 2022, 2023, 2024

Society for Cinema and Media Studies Travel Grant 2023

​​Alfred D. Chandler Jr. Travel Grant 2023

Radio-Television-Film Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Award 2022

1st Place Student Paper, SCMS Media Industries Scholarly Interest Group 2022

1st Place Student Paper, AEJMC Media Management and Economics Division 2021

University of Texas at Austin Graduate School Fellowship 2021

University of Texas at Austin Provost and Moody Fellowship 2021

Boston University Film and Television Studies Award for Innovative Scholarship 2021

1st Place Student Paper, SCMS Television Scholarly Interest Group 2021

Finalist, Student Paper, SCMS Media Industries Scholarly Interest Group 2021

Boston University College of Communication Prize for Academic Achievement 2020

Boston University Emerging Leaders Merit Scholarship 2019

Society of Cinema and Media Studies, TV and Radio History Special Interest Group

Graduate Student Representative (Spring 2024–Present)

Center for Entertainment & Media Industries, University of Texas at Austin

Graduate Affiliate (Fall 2022–Present)

Graduate Research Assistant (Fall 2021–Spring 2022)

Flow Journal, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film

Over*Flow Senior Editor (Fall 2023–Present)

Senior Editor (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)

Column Editor (Fall 2021, Spring 2022)

The Velvet Light Trap, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film

Editorial Board (Fall 2023–Present)

Shepherd Editor (Fall 2023–Present)

Editorial Collective (Spring 2022–Summer 2023)

Article Shepherd (Spring 2022–Summer 2023)

Book Reviewer (Spring 2022, Summer 2022)

ATX Television Festival

TV Pitch Competition Screener (Spring 2024)

George Foster Peabody Awards

Screening Committee Member: Entertainment Category (Spring 2024)

Graduate Student Assembly, Graduate School, University of Texas at Austin

Department Representative, Radio-Television-Film (Fall 2022–Spring 2024)

College of Communication, Boston University

Graduate Student Ambassador (Fall 2020, Spring 2021)